[BC省新聞] ICBC warns falling back this weekend brings a risk

2011, following, increase, falling, percent

ICBC warns "falling back" this weekend brings a riskTen percent increase in accidents following Daylight Saving TimeAmelia John
Nov 04, 2011 06:57:26 AM
0

[/url]

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - You might be looking forward to that extra hour of sleep this weekend when we roll back the clocks, but [url=http://www.icbc.com/]ICBC has a warning for drivers.

According to a survey, there's a 10 per cent increase in crashes in the Lower Mainland during the afternoon commute two weeks after the end of Daylight Saving Time. Nearly 20 per cent of drivers feel less alert after the change and overall, people feel less safe compared to the morning commute.

"There's less visibility during the afternoon commute. But it could also be coupled with the fatigue factor; that people are not getting as much sleep as they should, or the quality of sleep may not be as good," explains ICBC psychologist Dr John Vavrik.

"Around a third of the drivers that we surveyed actually say that they kind of compensate for that extra hour of sleep by staying up later," he adds, noting it eliminates any benefit of extra sleep.